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News & Photos
Plastic Bag Quilt Offers Powerful Message
“Birds think that plastic bags floating in the ocean are fish eggs. They eat them and die,” stated fourth grader, Isaiah R. “And turtles think they are jelly fish," added classmate Matt R.
Students in Kara Zimmerman’s fourth grade science class learned such facts while studying about the oceans of the world. They were horrified to discover that there is a floating landfill off the coast of California called “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” comprised mostly of plastic waste. “It is the size of Texas!” exclaimed one concerned student.
In an effort to raise awareness and help reduce plastic pollution in our world, fourth graders created a "Plastic Bag Fact Quilt" that will hang in the Lower School as a reminder for faculty and students to use less plastic to save our oceans.
During the week-long project, students collected plastic bags, cut them into squares, and then fused them together into long strips with an iron. Finally, the children wove the strips together and attached facts about plastic usage. The quilt also includes a pledge signed by each student to use less plastic.
“This is a very tactical way to use plastic bags and start to understand the magnitude of the number of bags we use on a daily basis,” said Zimmerman.
The lesson opened students’ eyes to how they directly impact the environment. Daniel K. said he knew about pollution but didn’t know how much humans and animals contribute to it.
When the students started calculating the number of plastic bags used at a grocery store, Madison P. declared, “Wow, 3,500 bags a day is a crazy amount of bags!” The national estimate is about 7,500 a day.
In addition to making the quilt, fourth graders used plastic bottles and bags to make treasures that they could keep. Megan L. said, “I decorated a bottle to make a vase. Therefore, it won’t go back in the water.”
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“Birds think that plastic bags floating in the ocean are fish eggs. They eat them and die,” stated fourth grader, Isaiah R. “And turtles think they are jelly fish," added classmate Matt R.
Students in Kara Zimmerman’s fourth grade science class learned such facts while studying about the oceans of the world. They were horrified to discover that there is a floating landfill off the coast of California called “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” comprised mostly of plastic waste. “It is the size of Texas!” exclaimed one concerned student.
In an effort to raise awareness and help reduce plastic pollution in our world, fourth graders created a "Plastic Bag Fact Quilt" that will hang in the Lower School as a reminder for faculty and students to use less plastic to save our oceans.
During the week-long project, students collected plastic bags, cut them into squares, and then fused them together into long strips with an iron. Finally, the children wove the strips together and attached facts about plastic usage. The quilt also includes a pledge signed by each student to use less plastic.
“This is a very tactical way to use plastic bags and start to understand the magnitude of the number of bags we use on a daily basis,” said Zimmerman.
The lesson opened students’ eyes to how they directly impact the environment. Daniel K. said he knew about pollution but didn’t know how much humans and animals contribute to it.
When the students started calculating the number of plastic bags used at a grocery store, Madison P. declared, “Wow, 3,500 bags a day is a crazy amount of bags!” The national estimate is about 7,500 a day.
In addition to making the quilt, fourth graders used plastic bottles and bags to make treasures that they could keep. Megan L. said, “I decorated a bottle to make a vase. Therefore, it won’t go back in the water.”